


(Never) Land

by rebel_rebel_in_storybrooke



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Implied Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-21 08:34:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10681614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebel_rebel_in_storybrooke/pseuds/rebel_rebel_in_storybrooke
Summary: “You know that place between sleep and awake, that place where you still remember dreaming? That's where I'll always love you. That's where I'll be waiting.” - Tinkerbell, Hook (1991)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so I am just feeling all kinds of hopeless, and this quote has been screaming at me to do something with it for ages, so here's my pile of angst.

_“You know that place between sleep and awake, that place where you still remember dreaming? That's where I'll always love you. That's where I'll be waiting.”_

Emma woke with a start, the grogginess of sleep still clouding her mind. She tried to cling to the dream as it rapidly slipped away. She shook her head, conceding defeat. A grunted snore from beside her brought her back to the present, her sleeping husband pulling the sheets tighter around himself. Emma looked at the alarm clock on her bedside table, the glowing numbers declaring it 3:03 A.M.

Emma sighed, rising from the bed. Something about that dream wouldn't leave her, she couldn't explain it. She quietly made her way through the halls of their apartment, passing the closed door of Henry's bedroom. As she walked through the living room on her way to the kitchen, the light from the television caught her eye. It still displayed the DVD menu for _Hook_ , someone evidently having forgotten to turn it off after movie night the night before. She turned it off, going to the kitchen for a glass of water.

As the cool liquid slid down her throat, she tried to remember her dream. Fleeting images were all she recalled; Henry. Killian, though he was dressed differently, and had a hook for a hand. Emma scrunched her nose at the image, quickly dismissing it as being inspired by her overactive imagination and the movie from the previous evening. But then there was a woman she didn't recognize. She tried to focus on her and _there was that feeling again_. Like she was forgetting something important. She took another sip of water.

Whoever she was, she was beautiful. But sad. She didn't know why, but that made her sad as well. Emma heard the floor creak, looking up to see a sleepy looking Henry wandering into the kitchen zombie style, rubbing at his eyes.

“Hey kid, what are you doing up?” Emma asked quietly. “It's the middle of the night.”

“Weird dream.” He said with a yawn, giving her a sleepy hug.

“Me too.” Emma rubbed his back. “Wanna talk about it?”

“I don't remember much.” He shrugged. “Just us. Somewhere. I don't know. I just had a weird feeling when I woke up. Like I was sad, but I don't know why.”

“Like you forgot something important.” Emma added.

“Ya. Like that.” They stood there for a while, both feeling the weight of a loss they couldn't explain.

“You should get back to sleep, kid, you've got school tomorrow.” Henry groaned, rolling his eyes.

“Don't remind me.” He turned to head back to his room, but paused, looking back at Emma.

“I love you, mom.”

“I love you too, Henry. Goodnight.” He gave her a small smile and padded back to his room, the door clicking closed behind him.

Emma sighed, wiping a hand down her face. Placing her cup in the sink, she made her way back to her bedroom, trying not to jostle the bed too much as she slid back in. The nagging feeling was still there as she began to doze back off, but it was quickly swallowed by a warm feeling of comfort the closer she grew to sleep. Her last thought before sleep claimed her was that, somehow, it felt like she was coming home.

What she didn't know was that Henry was experiencing the same feeling. That he could also feel the pure warmth and happiness of love as sleep took over.

They both drifted off with contented smiles on their lips. And thoughts of a beautiful brunette flitting through their dreams. Her bright smile doing little to hide the pain in her eyes as she welcomed them home. To a place that never existed.  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I've decided to continue this. I have no idea where it's going or how long it'll be, but here's another chapter. This is not gonna be an easy ride, folks.

_“I miss you, Emma.” She said softly, tears brimming in her eyes as she cradled Emma's cheek. Emma leaned into the touch, bringing a hand up to hold her fingers there. “I would've died to know you loved me, you know.”_

_“But I_ do _love you.” Emma pleaded. She gave a sad smile, shrugging._

_“And thus, here I am.” She gestured vaguely around them. Emma was confused. All she saw was the town around them._

_“But, you're here. You're not dead.” She sighed, shaking her head._

_“I may as well be.”_

_Emma shook her head stubbornly, taking her face in both her hands._

_“You're here.” Emma stated firmly. “I'm here. You're not dead.”_

_“Emma you're not here. There is no_ here _.” She placed a kiss in Emma's palm._

_“I don't understand.”_

_“You never do.” She whispered, chuckling sadly. “Always the Saviour... You can't save me this time, my love.”_

_“You're not making any sense.”_

_“You're dreaming, Emma. This is the only place I exist now.” A tear slipped from her eye, Emma wiping it gently away with her thumb._

_“You're trapped here? How can I get you out? When I wake up, I can find you, I can fix this!” Emma spoke rapidly._

_“When you wake up, you won't remember me.” She said thickly, a few more tears escaping. “You never do.”_

_“That's impossible,” Emma shook her head. “I could never forget you.”_

_“Emma, it's been five years. I have had this conversation with you almost every night for the past five years. You never remember anything. That's part of the curse. And my curse is having to live with that, trapped here, having to tell you this over and over again because while you may not remember,_ I do _. And it's torture.” She was openly crying now. Emma took her in her arms, holding her close._

_“But why are we cursed? What happened?” She sniffed into Emma's shoulder._

_“It was the only way to save you. I didn't cast the curse, but I was able to get the three of you out. I gave you new memories, like the first time. But instead of being sent back to the Enchanted Forest, I was banished here, alone. I don't know what happened to the others.”_

_“Who cast it?”_

_“I don't know. All I know is that I'm stuck in this Hell, and only see you and Henry when you're dreaming. Sometimes I don't even bother explaining things, I just let us be a family. It's nights like those where I'm almost happy.” She curled up against Emma._

_“I'll find who did this.” Emma said. “I'll fix this. I'll find you.”_

_She tilted her head up to kiss Emma's neck._

_“You always do... But not this time, darling.”_ _Emma's vision began to swim, colors draining from the world._

_“What's happening?” Emma asked in a panic, holding her tighter._

_“You're waking up.” She pulled back to look at Emma, her face stained with tears. Emma surged forward, capturing her lips desperately. She returned the kiss for a few brief moments before pulling away, looking Emma in the eyes. “Goodbye, Emma.”_

“REGI-”

 

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

Emma shot up in bed, coated in sweat. She looked around, dazed, the last few moments of her dream slipping from her mind. The woman, she was there again. Emma clutched at her heart as it constricted painfully with emotion. _Something's missing. Someone._

“Would you turn that bloody thing off, Swan? Some of us are still trying to sleep.” Killian groaned next to her. She snapped back to the present moment, realizing her alarm clock was still going off.

“Sorry.” She muttered, hitting the OFF button. The glowing lights declared it 6:05 A.M. She vaguely recalled that it was Wednesday. She got out of bed onto unsteady legs, making her way to the kitchen. She was surprised to find Henry sitting at the counter, half empty glass of water in front of him as he stared off into space.

“Hey, kid. Why you up so early?” He jerked upright, looking over to her. “I didn't think you had lecture til noon today?”

Henry, a now Junior at NYU, studying literature and writing, had been living at home while he studied to help on expenses. It was hard to believe he was 21 already.

“Couldn't get back to sleep.” He ran a hand through his messy hair, a far off look in his eye.

“The dreams again?” Emma asked. He nodded.

“You too?” Emma nodded back at him.

“Last night seemed different though, somehow.” Emma said, taking a seat on the stool next to Henry.

“Different how?” Emma shrugged.

“I don't know. I think I can almost remember her name, but every time I try to remember, it slips away.” She shook her head, sighing as she absently rubbed at her chest over her heart. “And when I woke up, I felt different. Like someone was _missing_. It physically _hurt_ , how much I miss them.”

Henry rubbed her back soothingly.

“They're just dreams, mom.” Emma nodded, not quite believing him.

“Ya, kid. Just dreams.”

**Author's Note:**

> I love these characters, have loved them for six long years. They deserve so much better than what they've been given, and so do we.


End file.
